Potts Pots Heavyweight Title at EFC Africa 9 in Johannesburg

Decorated South African grappler Ruan Potts
added an MMA championship to his trophy case on Thursday as he
claimed Extreme Fighting Championship Africa heavyweight title from
Norman
Wessels at
EFC Africa 9 at the Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg, South
Africa.

Potts showed off his grappling in round one with some incredibly
fast transitions from mount and back mount to armbar, but Wessels
was able to defend all of those attempts and return to feet. The
tide turned in the second stanza when Wessels landed a powerful
teep to Potts' face that set the tone for the round. With Potts
unable to close the distance or set up his shots Wessels outpointed
the Cape Town resident only getting taken down once when an
awkwardly positioned Potts caught his kick.

With Potts growing tired, Wessels seemed poised to take control of
the fight in the third. The momentum changed however when Potts
sliced Wessels' head open with a standing elbow. Literally smelling
blood, the challenger flurried with his opponent on the fence,
while not many of those shots landed it opened the opportunity for
Potts to take the fight to the ground which he didn't hesitate to
do. Once on the mat Potts stayed busy droppin elbows to the ribs,
securing back mount and punching until the bout was done.

Potts, who claims a ledger of 12-0, is now undefeated in three
fights in EFC Africa.

Making his first appearance in EFC Africa, Jeremy Smith avenged the only loss of his career
putting away Liam Cleand right before the bell ended round one. The
fight was contested up close, as Cleland tried to put the dangerous
striker on his back, but Smith's own wrestling was up to the task
and he was a much more physically stronger of the two, throwing
Cleland around the cage.

In the dying seconds of the opening round, Cleland closed the
distance and leaned down to pick a leg but was met with Smith's
knee that sent him down. Smith pounced on his foe with additional
punches and managed to force a stoppage at 4:59.

After the fight it was announced that Smith will be the next
fighter to fight Garreth
McLellan for his middleweight title.

Of the two featherweight boxing stylists the MMA veteran Leo Gloss
bested the neophyte Charlie
Weyer by unanimous decision. Weyer had some success with the
takedowns but couldn't do anything significant on the ground and
Gloss found his way back to the feet where he would outstrike the
fighter seven years his junior. As the fight wore on Gloss was more
on point with sprawl further cementing his lead on the judges'
scorecards staying undefeated in his last 6 fights.

Andrew van Zyl and Bernardo
Mikixi did not throw caution to the wind as both men attacked
each other with heavy shots. Mikixi had some success with hip
tosses but couldn't keep van Zyl down for extended periods of time
and van Zyl eventually got back to his feet. Round two had van Zyl
securing the pivotal takedown and as the Angolan-born fighter gave
up mount van Zyl unleashed a torrent of punches that went
unanswered for the stoppage victory.

"It was my best fight ever, I loved it," declared a jubilant van
Zyl after the fight.

Putting his striking skills on show Leon
Mynhardt became the first man to defeat Francois
Kabulu in a very entertaining welterweight scrap. The South
African stayed on the outside tenderizing Kabulu's leg with
powerful kicks. By round two, the spring was lacking in Kabulu's
step and Mynhardt wisely persisted with his kicking game further
limiting the mobility of his opponent.

The fight ended in the third when Mynhardt landed a three-punch
combination to the body before sending Kabulu crashing with a right
overhand.

In rare super-heavyweight action 308-pound Dewald
Botes defeated 302-pound Wilhelm
Strauss. Botes landed a scything leg kick that sent Strauss to
the ground where he followed up with punches. He wasn't landing
precise blows, but after the attack, Strauss had enough and opted
to retire from the bout.

Highly-touted South African Martin van
Staden quickly dispatched Nigeria's Steven
Momah with some heavy elbows on the ground, forcing referee Ian
Pienaar just 2:22 into the first round.

Using his superior wrestling, Terrence Gruessel took down Donald
Nzirawa at will and kept busy with ground-and-pound to win a
unanimous decision.

Wentzel
Nel and Manny da
Silva went tit-for-tat with their wrestling through the first
two minutes of their fight but when Nel capitalized on a kneetap to
secure top position later da Silva couldn't buck him off any more
and Nel pounded his way to victory at 3:57 of round one.

90 seconds was all Wade
Henderson needed to tap out Mawande
Vapi with a rear-naked choke. Henderson pulled guard and then
took Vapi's back, stretching his opponent out before securing the
choke.

Well-traveled Jeremy
Scheepers made most of his first EFC Africa appearance
defeating Raymond
Ahana by a unanimous verdict. Scheepers, giving up four inches
in height, couldn't find success with his wrestling early on but
after Ahana tired out and Scheepers got top position he dominated
his Nigerian foe.

Wade
Groth started his pro career on the right foot stopping
Ashley
Calvert with a left hook to the body 35 seconds into round
three. Groth was the superior striker throughout the fight although
he had to fend off a full mount and a guillotine early on in the
bout.

In the first fight of the evening, Tyron
Rightford picked up a majority decision win in his first pro
fight against fellow necomer Tshikangu
Makuebo thanks mostly to his superior striking having rocked
Makuebo with a couple of shots.